Some forecasters are estimating a
worldwide population explosion with an increase from the current
2.3 billion people to eight billion by the year 2020. This would
mean that agriculture will need to produce as much in the next 25
years as it has produced in the last 10,000 years, to meet the inevitable
soaring worldwide food demands.
It will not be an easy task - water requirements are set to double
and top soil is being lost at a rate of around seven per cent per
decade.
The main challenge will be to provide enough food without further
damage to the environment and against a background of increasing
difficulties due to the climatic change and the diminution and pollution
of water supplies.
To meet this challenge, highly qualified and motivated professionals,
armed with modern marketing, business and communication skills are
essential. However, those with more traditional agricultural and
land management training will also be required to back them up.
Britain’s agricultural colleges and universities offer an
extensive range of courses - from rural skills training to degrees
in agricultural business and land management, and beyond to postgraduate
level studies.
Finding the right course is crucial and anyone wishing to join
the land-based industries should carefully explore the opportunities
available to them. A practical short course or diploma might be
a good option for a student wishing to return to the family farm
while someone seeking a career in agricultural consultancy would
benefit from a degree level course followed by a specialised postgraduate
study programme. Many agricultural colleges have formal links with
institutions in mainland Europe and as far as Canada, New Zealand
and South Africa, allowing students to explore and compare differing
approaches to farming.
Above all, candidates should aim to choose a course from which
they will gain enjoyment in which they are at ease. Most, if not
all, agricultural colleges are in a rural setting and offer a wealth
of opportunities to students from urban backgrounds as well as those
who come from the rural environment.
Just some of the course opportunities include equine management,
animal science, horticulture, land management, rural estate management,
international agribusiness, agricultural business management, ecology
and rural development. Preferred A’levels usually include one
or more of the sciences and geography and work experience in a relevant
area is a added bonus.
Commenting on the range of opportunities, Principle of the Royal
Agricultural College Professor Barry Dent said "As we move
into the new century, I am convinced that really exciting careers
will open up with technical and business challenges to be overcome,
careers in production, in business support and finance, in marketing,
in environmental management co-ordination, in technology transfer,
in importing and exporting, in international co-ordination , in
developing new business enterprises, in land and estate management
and in chartered surveying".
Young people who are concerned about the environment, about the
safety of our food or who simply enjoy the prospect of working in
the land-based sector will benefit from the study at one of Britain’s
agricultural tarinign institutions. The career opportunities are
endless and colleges such as the Royal Agricultural College, which
draws upon a network of more than 10,000 former students start out
on successful careers.
Author: Caroline Mountain, Marketing Communications Manager
at the Royal Agricultural College U.K..
This article first appeared in Educational Courses in Britain
